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Salisbury, Md. - The Delmarva Shorebirds, class "A" affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, are pleased to announce that first baseman Nicky Delmonico has been named to the South Atlantic League Northern Division All-Star Team. Delmonico is the lone player representative to make the mid-season classic this season. Shorebirds athletic trainer Will Lawhorn was selected the athletic trainer for the Northern Division. The 53rd annual South Atlantic League All-Star Game will be held at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park in Charleston, South Carolina. The Charleston RiverDogs are the hosts of the event. The actual all-star game will be contested on June 19. Festivities, including the home run derby, will be held between June 18-20.

Delmonico, 19, leads the Shorebirds in several major statistical categories including: doubles (15), home runs (5), hits (53), runs-batted-in (33) and total bases (83). The Knoxville, Tennessee native has 16 multi-hit games and has reached base in 45 of 54 games played this season.

After batting .247 in April, Delmonico posted an improved May average of .280 with 14 RBIs.

The sixth round draft pick in 2011 reached base in 20 consecutive games between April 17 and May 11. During the time frame, he batted .338 (25-for-74).

Delmonico has shown tremendous durability during the first half of the season. He has played in 54 of the Shorebirds 57 games through June 4 and has played in 40 straight games dating back to April 24.

Lawhorn, second year Shorebirds athletic trainer, was voted the athletic trainer for the Northern Division. Lawhorn served as the athletic trainer for the 2011 South Atlantic League All-Star Game at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium.

Can Delmonico move well? I assume he has a solid arm playing catcher and 3rd. I'm surprised the Orioles have not moved him to RF. But if he looks comfortable at 1st, you really just want him to settle and allow that bat to get him to the majors.

Rising O's wrote:Can Delmonico move well? I assume he has a solid arm playing catcher and 3rd. I'm surprised the Orioles have not moved him to RF. But if he looks comfortable at 1st, you really just want him to settle and allow that bat to get him to the majors.

He has been playing a lot more 2nd base recently. (He hasn't caught at all). He had looked really good defensively, until this recent road trip. One game he committed 3 errors and I believe 5 over all. Prior to that he had shown nice range, and I think having been an effective defender at the hot corner (in high school), although 2B presents a different set of challenges, I don't see it being as difficult (other than turning the DP).

Well 2nd definitely has more value than 1st. Looking at baseball reference he had 5 errors at 1st and 8 at 2nd for a respective 983 and 909 fielding percentage. Not a big deal since he's for the most part both positions are new to him. But like I said, why mess with the kids head trying to make him learn a new position instead of just putting him somewhere he looks comfortable? I hope under DD we've got the coaches now who can coach players like Delmonico up.

Last edited by Rising O's on June 7th, 2012, 10:35 am, edited 2 times in total.

Rising O's wrote:Well 2nd definitely has more value than 1st. Looking at baseball reference he had 5 errors at 1st and 5 and 2nd for a respective 983 and 909 fielding percentage. Not a big deal since he's for the most part both positions are new to him. But like I said, why mess with the kids head trying to make him learn a new position instead of just putting him somewhere he looks comfortable? I hope under DD we've got the coaches now who can coach players like Delmonico up.

A bat like Delmonico's at 2B makes your heart beat faster, but I would rather focus on defense first and the bat second. We don't need Jeff Kent at 2B.

I still think that Delmonico is best suited for a corner infield position.

Rising O's wrote:Well 2nd definitely has more value than 1st. Looking at baseball reference he had 5 errors at 1st and 8 at 2nd for a respective 983 and 909 fielding percentage. Not a big deal since he's for the most part both positions are new to him. But like I said, why mess with the kids head trying to make him learn a new position instead of just putting him somewhere he looks comfortable? I hope under DD we've got the coaches now who can coach players like Delmonico up.

Many teams these days are putting fringey corner infield bats at 2B to see if they can leverage the positional advantage it represents. At the low level its a worthwhile adventure since there's not much to learn at 1B and he already has a history at 3B. If he can't play 2B, he has four more levels ahead of him where he can find a position.

A_K wrote:Many teams these days are putting fringey corner infield bats at 2B to see if they can leverage the positional advantage it represents. At the low level its a worthwhile adventure since there's not much to learn at 1B and he already has a history at 3B. If he can't play 2B, he has four more levels ahead of him where he can find a position.

A_K wrote:Many teams these days are putting fringey corner infield bats at 2B to see if they can leverage the positional advantage it represents. At the low level its a worthwhile adventure since there's not much to learn at 1B and he already has a history at 3B. If he can't play 2B, he has four more levels ahead of him where he can find a position.

yup, and his bat plays very very well at 2B compared to 1B, 3B, or even OF.

He has the body type for a second baseman as well, just needs some time to adapt to the position. I think his bat should allow him to move quickly through the system. I would not be suprised to see him promoted at some point this year. Glad to see a top pick doing well......